Shawn was a kid that straddled two worlds -- he was a cool kid at school when the cool kids were around, but he was also a closet geek that gamed with me and the other artsy kids in the evenings. Bit of a powergamer, though, which even then I wasn't all that into.

He also went out with Lisa Toye for years, which pissed me off a bit inside because I was crazy about her for most of my high school career. Not that I ever would have had a chance to go out with her, but even so. Grrrr.

A few years down the road, Shawn would cut a few toes off in a lawnmower accident. He didn't find his path immediately after high school, and didn't finish university. He discovered a deep-set love for golf, though, and works on a golf course somewhere now.

He'll always remain the greatest example I know of somebody that wanted to just geek out, but wanted to be cool at the same time. We nerds were committed, but poor Shawn just couldn't decide which side of that fence to land on.